I know there are a ton of dish threads lately, but I want to get some more specific feedback.

Here's my thinking:

Right now, I pay about $100 for cable modem service, cable service and telephone. Breaking it down, it's about $40 for internet, $40 cable and $20 for phone.

What I am thinking is this. There are some great packages for new subscribers to DirecTv. Orbit Satellite has a great package right now. I can get a two room system. The main receiver is the Philips Series 2 35 hour tivo and the other receiver is the basic one.

I have an old Tivo with a lifetime subscription. What I am thinking is move that one into my room with the other dish reciever. I don't have a tv in there yet, but that will be forthcoming shortly. Once I do, I can hook up the basic reciever and the old Tivo. I'll have to hack it for the cable modem, though since I will be cancelling my phone. That's not a big deal, though.

In the main room, I'll use the the Series 2 Tivo.

As for costs, this is what it breaks down. I'll cancel my cable and phone. I'll have to probably pay $50 a month for cable modem service after that. I'm going to get the Total Choice Plus package with locals, so that works out to be $40 a month. Plus the $4.99 Tivo service fee, it works out to be almost exactly what I am paying now.

So in essence, for $100 upfront and the same cost monthly, I get an extra Tivo unit, better reception and better channel selection.

I'd be interested in getting some feedback from people here. It is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the ramblings.

Sounds good to me. I couldn't live without my Tivo(s).

Good deal; go for it, but how will your regular Tivo work without a phone line? Does it have a built-in network card?

You can hack it with a network card. I haven't done that yet and won't bother to until I get another tv for my bedroom.

I saw where people have hacked their Directivos with wireless cards (to get shows off of the Tivo and schedule recordings/season passes from their PC).

ditto.

Triple LNB dish, 35 hour Tivo, two receivers, cordless phone remote, shipping and installation (extra wall drop needed): < $150.00 ( www.valueelectronics.com )</small>

DSL hardware/shipping/install: $12.95

Telling Cox Cable to ____ off: Priceless!!!


The installer arrives in 2 hours and 10 minutes! This day is going too slowly.

the only time you need a phone line is for the initial setup. after that it phones home everynight to see if you've ordered ppv, from what i remember. i order those online anyway. haven't had a phone connected to it in 3 months. everything is done through satellite.

well, things are looking badly. I can't get a direct line of sight to the DirecTv satellite and my apartment community is unwilling to allow me to attach it to the roof.

That's why next time I move, I am bringing a compass with me before I sign anything.

Well, I was planning on getting it when I moved in here. I did not research it enough, though, to know that the dish has to be facing SE. Unfortunately, this was the only apartment on the 2nd floor. I could've got the ground floor place across the way that is perfect.

I knew all that - here on the east cost you must face SW (the satellite is over Texas). However, I thought the apt I picked faced SW for sure. However, it was more like WSW, so I ended up missing it by 10 degrees.

So if the "place across the way is perfect" I assume it faces roughly south? Which way does your apt face then? Roughly north?!

The place across the way faces SE. My place faces NW.

Ack that is dissapointing.

I am about to move out in a couple of months, and am dreading the ordeal with the directv.

I will sublet for a couple of months before I buy a new place, and will try and find a location with a Directivo, otherwise I am going to hurt like a mofo.

Y2K Falcon, I love it!

Hope your directivo works out, I've had mine 3 months and it has been a dream. No more land use tax for me, cable can bite me.

I just switched to DirecTV last month after being with Dish Network for a year. I will never go back to cable and I love DirecTV much better than Dish Network. Mainly because of the DirecTivo unit. I'm usually an early adopter on electronics, but I have resisted Tivo because I just couldn't believe it was "that" great, but I was so wrong. It truly changes the way I watch TV now. It is great! I would suggest that anybody with DirecTV should spend the extra money for the Tivo reciever, you won't regret it!

Cat

stop bumping this thread guys, you are bumming me out.

sorry for compounding your misery

How many floors on your apartment building?

Do you have a deck?

Can you run a pole from your deck so a dish can point over the roof? What about off to the side?

no time to thread bump. All sorts of programming await me on my DTivo.....

That's likely a landlord no-no. Most leases state that the dish must be located within the tenant's leasehold area.

Only reason I brought it up is that I have a friend that was on the second floor of a two story apartment building and was allowed to extend a pole off his deck to shoot his dish over the building.

so if you live in texas, does the dish have to point straight up?